Workout Description

Why This Workout Is Very Hard

Bar muscle-ups are a high-skill movement that most average CrossFitters cannot perform consistently, especially under fatigue. The 5x5 rep scheme (25 total) creates significant grip and upper body fatigue that compounds across rounds. While double-unders provide brief recovery, the muscle-ups become increasingly difficult as rounds progress. The combination of high skill demands with moderate volume in a continuous format makes this accessible only to experienced athletes.

Benchmark Times for 5 Rds (BMU, DU)

• Elite: <6:30
• Advanced: 7:30-8:30
• Intermediate: 9:30-10:30
• Beginner: >18:00

Training Focus

This workout develops the following fitness attributes:

• Stamina (8/10): Bar muscle ups require sustained upper body pulling and pushing stamina, while double unders test calf and shoulder endurance across multiple rounds.
• Endurance (7/10): Five rounds of high-skill gymnastics and cardio creates significant cardiovascular demand, though shorter duration than pure endurance workouts.
• Power (7/10): Bar muscle ups are explosive pulling movements, and double unders require rapid, coordinated power from calves and shoulders.
• Strength (6/10): Bar muscle ups demand considerable upper body strength for the transition and dip portion, plus grip strength throughout.
• Speed (6/10): Success depends on maintaining consistent cycling speed on both movements while managing fatigue and technical breakdown across five rounds.
• Flexibility (4/10): Bar muscle ups require shoulder mobility and thoracic extension, while double unders need basic ankle and shoulder range of motion.

Movements

• Bar Muscle-Up
• Double-Under

Benchmark Notes

This workout consists of 5 rounds of 5 bar muscle-ups and 50 double-unders. I'll analyze this as a time-based workout since no scoring method was provided. Movement breakdown: Bar muscle-ups are highly technical and demanding, requiring 3-5 seconds per rep when fresh. Double-unders are rhythmic but can break down under fatigue, averaging 0.5 seconds per rep in rhythm. Round-by-round analysis: Round 1 (fresh): 5 bar muscle-ups at 4 sec each = 20 sec, 50 double-unders at 0.5 sec each = 25 sec, transition = 3 sec, total = 48 sec. Round 2: Bar muscle-ups slow to 4.5 sec each = 22.5 sec, double-unders maintain rhythm = 25 sec, transition = 3 sec, total = 50.5 sec. Round 3: Significant grip and lat fatigue, bar muscle-ups at 5.5 sec each = 27.5 sec, double-unders start breaking at 0.6 sec average = 30 sec, transition = 4 sec, total = 61.5 sec. Round 4: Bar muscle-ups become very difficult at 7 sec each = 35 sec, double-unders frequently break at 0.8 sec average = 40 sec, transition = 5 sec, total = 80 sec. Round 5: Bar muscle-ups may require singles at 8-10 sec each = 45 sec, double-unders heavily broken at 1.0 sec average = 50 sec, transition = 5 sec, total = 100 sec. Total time estimate for intermediate athlete: 48 + 50.5 + 61.5 + 80 + 100 = 340 seconds (5:40). This workout is similar to Amanda (9-7-5 ring muscle-up + squat snatch) but with more total muscle-up volume (25 vs 21) and substituting double-unders for heavy snatches. Amanda's L5 anchor is 720-840 seconds, but this workout should be significantly faster due to: 1) Bar muscle-ups are easier than ring muscle-ups, 2) Double-unders are much faster than heavy snatches. I estimate this workout to be roughly 50% faster than Amanda. Scaling from Amanda's L10 of 420-480 seconds down by 50% gives 210-240 seconds for elite. Scaling L5 from 720-840 down by 50% gives 360-420 seconds. Scaling L1 from 1080-1380 down by 50% gives 540-690 seconds. Final targets: L10: 390-450 seconds (6:30-7:30), L5: 570-630 seconds (9:30-10:30), L1: 900-1080 seconds (15:00-18:00).

Modality Profile

Both Bar Muscle-Up and Double-Under are gymnastics movements - bodyweight coordination skills requiring no external load